Peer-reviewed article
Comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care at a rural community health centre in Northern India: a case series and quality improvement experience
Anurag Gautam, Kiran Gautam, Renu Shrivas, Vinit Kumar Yajurvedi ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This case series describes five maternal health activities at a rural Community Health Centre in Faridpur, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. They include treating maternal sepsis with severe anaemia, an emergency caesarean section after a failed referral, a telephone follow-up system for high-risk pregnancies, respectful maternity care through discharge practices, and strengthening of institutional deliveries. The authors report favourable maternal and neonatal outcomes, better continuity of antenatal care and greater community confidence in public health services. The report is mainly an account of one facility's experience, not a controlled evaluation.
Key points
- Five representative maternal health interventions were described at CHC Faridpur, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.
- Emergency management of maternal sepsis with severe anaemia and a life-saving emergency caesarean section after unsuccessful referral were included.
- A telephonic follow-up system for high-risk pregnancies was implemented.
- Timely assessment, multidisciplinary teamwork and evidence-based protocols were linked to favourable maternal and neonatal outcomes.
- The authors report improved continuity of antenatal care and community confidence in public services.
Limitations
The abstract gives no numbers, comparison group or measured before-and-after data, so it cannot show how much the interventions changed outcomes. Findings come from selected cases at one facility and may not apply elsewhere. The focus is on maternal health, with newborn outcomes mentioned only in general terms.
Abstract
Maternal mortality remains a significant public health challenge in low- and middle-income countries. Maternal sepsis, severe anaemia, delayed referral, and inadequate access to emergency obstetric care continue to contribute to maternal and neonatal morbidity, particularly in rural India. Strengthening Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) services at Community Health Centres (CHCs) is essential for improving pregnancy outcomes and reducing preventable maternal deaths. This case series describes five representative maternal health interventions undertaken at Community Health Centre (CHC) Faridpur, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. The series includes emergency management of maternal sepsis with severe anaemia, life-saving emergency caesarean section in a critically ill pregnant woman following unsuccessful referral, implementation of a telephonic follow-up system for high-risk pregnancies, promotion of respectful maternity care through innovative discharge practices, and strengthening of institutional delivery services. Timely clinical assessment, multidisciplinary teamwork, adherence to evidence-based obstetric protocols, and patient-centred care resulted in favourable maternal and neonatal outcomes while improving continuity of antenatal care and community confidence in public health services. This case series demonstrates that strengthened emergency obstetric services, early recognition of high-risk conditions, coordinated multidisciplinary management, and innovative maternal health interventions can substantially improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in rural secondary healthcare settings. The experiences from CHC Faridpur provide a practical model for enhancing quality maternity care in resource-constrained environments.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Strengthened CEmONC services at a Community Health Centre, including emergency case management, a telephonic follow-up system for high-risk pregnancies, respectful maternity care through innovative discharge practices, and strengthened institutional delivery services
- Population
- Pregnant women and newborns attending CHC Faridpur, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
Key finding
The authors report favourable maternal and neonatal outcomes in the described cases.
Gautam et al. · OpenAlex · 29 Sept 2026